Events

Photo Exhibition on the War against Ukrainian Libraries
Kornhaus Bibliotheken Bern (Kornhaus libraries) and the Ukraine Culture Network have jointly organized a photo exhibition of the ongoing war against Ukrainian libraries.

This war is part of the war the Russian Federation wages against Ukrainian culture and identity.

The exhibition is on display at the main building of Kornhausbibliotheken at Kornhausplatz 18 in Bern until January 31, 2026. 

Swiss National TV SRF has produced a TV report on the exhibition.

The full-length video of the World Premiere of the Requiem by Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych has just been released. You can find it on the Ukraine Culture Network's YouTube Channel.

The Requiem had its world premiere in Kyiv, at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, on November 2, 2025. The music and the Requiem's narrative - suffering, death, and the perspective of a better world - deeply touched the audience. Many have lost family members and friends in the ongoing war. The air alarms over Kyiv stayed silent during the premiere - to pick up just as it was over.

The War against Ukrainian Libraries and Ukrainian Literature

The Ukraine Culture Network UCN and Kornhaus Bibliotheken Bern (Kornhaus libraries, KOB) jointly organized a series of events to raise awareness of the ongoing war against Ukrainian libraries and Ukrainian literature. This war is part of the war the Russian Federation wages against Ukrainian culture and identity.

The events took place at the main building of Kornhausbibliotheken at Kornhausplatz 18 in Bern on December 2nd and 3rd, 2025. 

The Sophia Chamber Choir from Kyiv performed at the Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern on December 12 at 19.30.

The program was devoted to the upcoming Christmas time and included works from Johann Sebastian Bach, Francis Poulenc, Victor Kolomits, Iaroslav Karpiv, Oleksandr Rodin and others. The audience was presented with an impressive blend of voices and musical works from both Ukraine and Western Europe. Several of the arragements had been specifically created for the Sophia Chamber Choir.

The concert concluded with the traditional Ukrainian New Year's song 'Shchedryk'. Shchedryk was arranged by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, who was i.a. known for his arrangements of Ukrainian folk music. He was murdered in 1921 by a Soviet security agent, becoming one of the many victims of the Soviet state's suppression of Ukrainian culture. Shchedryk is at the basis of the well-known Carol of the Bells, which can be frequently heard around Christmas time.

Please find the full program under this link.

The Sophia Chamber Choir could also be heard at their Basel concert and Stockholm concert on December 16 and 17.

The concert was organized by the Ukraine Culture Network UCN, with special thanks to Werner Schmitt and Maria Söderberg, UCN Board Members.

On November 2^nd, 2025, the Requiem of Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych had its world premiere at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kyiv. The music and the Requiem's narrative - suffering, death, and the perspective of a better world - deeply touched the audience. Many have lost family members and friends in the ongoing war.

The Requiem was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine under maestro Volodymyr Sirenko and the National Choral Capella 'Dumka' under artistic director und conductor Eugene Savchuk.

The Ukraine Culture Network organized its 3rd online fundraising seminar on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. The seminar helped participants to be more professional in raising funds for their cultural projects.

At the seminar, Ursula Liebich, fundraiser at schreibenundmehr, put the focus on the advantages and disadvantages of creating an association under Swiss law (a 'Verein'). She also answered the questions of participants with regard to fundraising in Switzerland. 

02/10/2025

The online networking meetings organized by the Ukraine Culture Network help Ukrainian artists and cultural organizations to network with potential partners and funders.

A concert to celebrate Ukraine's National Day was organized by the Ukraine Culture Network in Bern on August 22nd, 2025.

The 2025 Summer Window exhibition at Kunsthaus Zofingen featured works of Ukrainian artists Dasha Podoltseva and Elena Orap. The typical Soviet apartment blocks of Ukraine, the so-called panelka buildings (prefabricated buildings), took the center stage. The exhibition was produced by curator Eva Bigler. 

The Ukraine Culture Network organized an online networking meeting on Wednesday, July 23. Online networking meetings help cultural organizations and Ukrainian artists network with potential partners and funders.

Ukraine Culture Network - online fundraising seminar for Ukrainian artists - Thursday, July 17, 2025

The Embassy of Ukraine in Switzerland, with support from the Honorary Consuls of Ukraine in Switzerland and Liechtenstein Andrey Luzhnytskyi and David Karl Jandrasits and the Ukraine Culture Network amongst others, arranged a symposium at the Polit-Forum Bern on the theme: “The Constitution of Ukraine: Evolution, Statehood and Its Role in Today's Challenges”. The event brought together diplomats, scholars, historians, lawyers and friends of Ukraine.

The panel discussions spanned from history, cultural heritage to challenges during Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Bohdan Futey, Professor of Law; Nicolas Hayoz, Professor of Political Science at the University of Fribourg; Jan Mispelaere, Historian of the National Archives of Sweden; Andriy Portnov, Historian; and Christian Schoenenberger, former Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine discussed:

- the historical legacy of Ukrainian constitutionalism - from Pylyp Orlyk to Independence;

- the significance of the 1996 Constitution for the formation of statehood;

- the challenges facing the Fundamental Law of Ukraine during Russia’s war.